Display board



S. R. WIRTH DISPLAY BOARD Oct. 30, 1951 Filed Sept. 1l, 1948 PatentedOct. 30., 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DISPLAY BOARD Sidney R.Wirth, River Forest, Ill., assignor to Advertising Metal Display Co.,Chicago, Ill., a corporationof Illinois ApplicationSeptember 11, 1948,Serial'No. 48,793

(Cl.v 211-87) 1 Claim. l

This invention relates to improvements in display boards and it consistsof the matters hereinafter described and more particularly pointed outin the appended claim.

The boards with which the present. invention is more especiallyconcerned includes a supporting panel and members that project forwardlyfrom the bottom of the board for the hanging support of the articlesdisplayed on theboard. A display board of this general type isillustrated and described in Patent 1,998,243 of'April 16, 1935, toHerbert H. Krueger.

One of the objects of to provide an improved structure for attaching thearticle supporting hangers to the panel of the board and this in amanner whereby the hangers are better able to withstandthe load of thearticles supported andv will not so easily loosen up from thepanel.

A further object of the invention is to so form the panel with a partwhich not only stiiiens the same, better to resist warping, but whichpart also is employed forv engagement by portions of the hangers toresist the tendency of the hangers to tip under the weight of thearticles supported thereby.

The above mentioned objects of the invention, together with others, aswell as the several advantages thereof, will more fully appear as thespecification proceeds.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a display board embodying the preferredform of the invention, as viewed from the front thereof.

Fig. 2 is a view in rear elevation of the display board appearing inFig. l, but on a scale slightly enlarged over that of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a detail horizontal sectional view through a part of theimproved display board as taken on the line 3-3 and on a scale enlargedover that of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary detail perspective of parts of the board asviewed from the back thereof, on substantially the scale of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a view similar to and substantially on the scale of Fig. 4 andshows a modified arrangement for securing the hangers to the panel ofthe board, and which will be more fully referred to later.

Referring now in detail to that embodiment of the invention illustratedin Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive, the improved board includes the sheet metalpanel or front I, which is of a horizontally elongated rectangular shapeand is provided along the top and sides thereof with rearwardlyextendthe present invention is Y ing flanges II and I=2 respectively andis,` further provided at the bottom with a rearwardly extending ledgeI3- of the same depth as said iianges. The rear margin ofsaid ledge isturned back upon but is spaced above the remainder of said ledge to forma forwardly facing flange III,y which not only stiffens theledgebutralsol defines a forwardly opening groove or channel I5 alongthe, back margin of the ledge. The panel is provided along its bottomWith pairs of longitudinally spaced openings II,A the bottoms ofV whichare substantially iiush with the top of the ledge, as best appears inFig. 4.

Associated with said panel thus far described is a plurality of hangers,one forl association with each pair of openings I6 and indicated as aWhole by the numeral I'i. Each hanger isl made of a length of wire bentinto substantially a 'U-shape so as to include a pair of laterallyspaced. side legs I8;-I8 each oi" which is turned upwardly at its frontfree end as a hook i9, the other end offsaid legs being operativelyconnected together by a cross member 20'. This` member spaces the. legsapart a distance corresponding to the distance between the openings I6of each pair. The wire from which the hangers are made is of such adiameter as to readily pass through the openings, as Well as to permitentry of the cross bar 2Q into the groove I5 from the open frontthereof.

On the back of the panel and disposed in a vertical plane between theaxes of the opening I 6 of each pair is pivotally mounted a hangerconflning member 2|, which includes a pair of side anges 22 and a web23. The flanges 22-22 have a depth approximating the distance betweenthe front edge of the flange I4 and the back of the panel. The member 2|is somewhat elongated and it is pivoted to the panel for swingingmovement by means of a rivet 24 that passes through the top end of theweb and the panel, centrally between the openings I6 of each pair.

To apply a hanger to the panel, the procedure is as follows: Theassociated hanger confining member 2I is swung into a substantiallyhorizontal position, such as appears at the left hand side of Fig. l,and wherein its bottom end is spaced above the ledge I3. A hanger I'I isthen taken in hand and from the rear of the panel the hooks IS-IS arepassed through the associated pair of openings It, while the hanger isdisposed at an angle extending upwardly and rearwardly from the junctionof the panel and its ledge I3. The hanger is then moved forwardly anddownwardly until the cross bar 2!) thereof engages the ledge I3forwardly of the flange I4. Thereafter the hanger is moved rearwardly sothat the cross bar 2B thereof enters the groove I5 under the flange I4at the rear of the ledge and at which time the legs IIS-I8 are disposedin a plane parallel with the ledge and with the rear end of said legsengaging on said ledge. Thereafter the associated hanger confiningmember 2i is swung downward- 1y to extend in an upright position (as atthe right hand side of Fig. 4), at which time the flanges 22-22 closethe open front of the channel I5 to confine the hanger in place againstany forward movement.

It is to be noted that those portions of legs I8 forwardly of the panelare longer than those portions to the rear thereof. When the articles tobe displayed are hingingly engaged upon the longer front portions of thelegs, the legs function as a lever tending to fulcrum about that partthereof disposed in the associated opening. This action, however, isresisted by the engagement of the cross bar 20 of each hanger, under theange I 4 and which acts as a hold down action thereon. Thus the member2l, in this instance, is not relied upon to prevent the swingingmovement of cross bar 29 but merely to prevent the hangers from movingforwardly by blocking the open front of the channel and thereby conningthe cross bar therein.

In the structure thus far described, the cross bar 20 of the hangers isstraight and without bends or bows therein. However in Fig. 5, the crossbar 20 is illustrated as having a centrally arranged bowed portion 26a,which when the end portions of said bar are disposed in the channel,projects forwardly to a point beyond the front edge of the ange I4. Withsuch a structure, a slightly modified form of hanger coniining member2Ia, is employed, which includes a web 22a and front and rear ilanges23a-23a with the rear ilange pivotally mounted on the panel by a rivet24a. The web 22a is of such a width that lwhen the member 2Ia stands inthe upright operative position, as in Fig. 5, the front ilange 23aengages the central bowed portion 20a of the cross bar and confines thehanger in place.

With the construction described, by the provision of the turned overflange I4, the ledge I3 is materially stiffened against warping and thisange also acts to hold down the rear end of the hangers upon the ledge,the members 2| merely blocking the open front of the groove and in noway having a hold down function so far as the cross bar of the hangersis concerned.

While in describing the invention I have referred in detail to the form,construction and arrangement of the parts involved, the same is to beconsidered only in the illustrative sense and therefore I do not wish tobe limited thereto, except as may be specically set forth in theappended claim.

I claim as my invention:

A display board embodying therein a panel having a pair of laterallyspaced openings therein, a ledge projecting rearwardly from said panelbelow said openings, hook-like means carried by said ledge and facingtoward said panel, a hanger comprising laterally spaced legs and amember connecting the rear ends of said legs, with said legs insertedthrough said openings and said connecting member being engaged undersaid hooklike means, and including a portion bowed forwardly, and meansengageable with said bowed portion for confining said connecting memberin position under said hook-like means.

SIDNEY R. WIRTH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,211,574 I-Iale Jan. 9, 19171,486,928 Sivley Mar. 18, 1924 1,998,243 Krueger Apr. 16, 1935

